Road Test and Review – Fiat Fullback LX
A Taste of Thai from Turin…
Background
2015 /16 has been a period of frenetic activity in the 4×4 pickup sector. Ford, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Nissan and Volkswagen have all refreshed their offerings, with Isuzu due to reveal a lightly revised D-Max towards the end of this year. In addition, manufacturers who have previously had no representation are developing their own versions of established contenders. Renault have demonstrated the Alaskan, based on the Nissan Navara NP300 and Mercedes-Benz have also announced their intention of launching a heavily revised NP300, expected to be called the GLT and anticipated to be available sometime in 2018. Fiat, conscious that their portfolio excludes a 4×4 lifestyle variant which causes issues for any solus fleet propositions have commenced a joint venture with Mitsubishi. The Fullback is basically a Series 5 L200 with a Fiat badge and a customised level of equipment.
Specification and features
The Fullback range is simple offering two Euro 6 engines, a 150hp or 180hp variant, two trim levels, SX or LX (engine output dictating the trim level) and the option of automatic transmission on the LX. The standard trim on the SX is more than adequate, including air conditioning, DAB radio, electric windows and mirrors, remote locking and LED daytime running lights. The LX adds niceties such as leather upholstery, keyless ignition, heated seats, dual zone climate control, lane departure warning system, reverse camera and satellite navigation.
The test vehicle was a LX with manual transmission. Obviously an early build it was lacking some of the LX equipment which might be evident to eagle eyed readers looking at the photographs. It was fitted with a non standard and rather stylish load area cover which was tastefully colour keyed to the vehicle. Externally, there is little to differentiate this Fiat offering to its Mitsubishi parent, the obvious giveaways being the front grille and the badging on the tailgate. Having said that, the chrome side bars and lower door sills, the chunky and stylish 17” alloy wheels and the privacy glass to the rear windows blend together to give a very distinctive and bold statement.
The cab environment
Entry to this type of vehicle is never too straight forward with the height and side bars to contend with, but it is achieved without too much fuss, helped with provision of grab handles on the windscreen pillars. The cab environment is airy and there is a quality feel to the materials. The dash layout is very straight forward and uncluttered. The switchgear, either on the dash or the multi function steering wheel is sited where it should be and logical in operation. It’s not without its downsides though. The trip computer is very basic, operated by repeated pressing of a single button located on the speedo and there is no clock on the main dash, a huge omission in a commercial vehicle. The Kenwood media unit located in the centre is (and looks to be) essentially a bolt on with a very cluttered interface and operation of the radio and telephone functions in particular were not easy, especially on the move. Again, on some screens (notably navigation) there was no clock visible. A single 12 volt accessory socket is fitted, alongside a USB port. Cab storage is far more akin to a car than a commercial vehicle, just some small door bins, a glovebox and a centre console lidded box (doubling up as an armrest) to take all the paraphernalia that a traditional van user would throw in to a vehicle. Also located in the central console is the selection knob for the transmission. This gives the option of 2WD, 4WD (in high or low ratios) and also the facility to lock the differential in the low range. The rear section of the cab can comfortably seat three people with excellent legroom and this area benefits from ventilation being ducted from the front of the vehicle.
On the road
The driving seat, electrically adjustable on the LX model is extremely comfortable and provides an almost perfect driving position. Visibility is excellent and the large door mirrors give more than adequate rearward vision. The 180hp engine delivers a great punch under acceleration and the torque at low revs means that downchanges can be minimised without compromising performance. Motorway driving is effortless. The engine speed at 80mph is just over 2000rpm in sixth gear and the truck feels much more like a large, quality car than a commercial vehicle. Noise levels from engine, wind and road are more than acceptable. The Fullback, whilst not fundamentally designed to be a long legged motorway cruiser really does eat up the miles without breaking into a sweat and in great comfort.The six speed gearbox, whilst not the slickest on the market does the job with well spaced ratios. Ride quality, always somewhat of a compromise on this sort of vehicle is good under most conditions and my passengers, who are far more accustomed to travelling in a car didn’t find anything to complain about. Steering was well balanced and the Fullback benefits from a turning circle which is tighter than most of its competitors. Handling on the road proved to be adequate but in 2WD mode there were a couple of occasions when the rear of the truck unexpectedly lost adhesion to the road in damp conditions on cornering. This is less likely with a load on board but, as lifestyle pickups more often than not don’t carry a payload it is something to watch out for. A brief foray onto an off road track proved drama free but the course was not particularly challenging. From a load carrying perspective a payload of 1050kg’s is competitive in its sector, but the towing capacity of 3.1 tonnes falls short of the 3.5 tonnes offered by some competitors, an important factor to some traditional 4×4 customers.
Conclusion
The Fullback is a great looking vehicle with a proven, popular and established heritage. Whilst Fiat can be commended for broadening their product base it has to be said that this sector is very badge sensitive. Fiat are the first to admit that their brand sentiment in the UK is something that they need to improve and the establishment of the Fiat Professional sub-brand has been an important step towards gaining wider acceptance and credibility. Whether sufficient gains have been made to put the Fullback onto the shopping list of the retail buyer who will immediately consider offerings from Ford, Toyota Nissan etc. remains to be seen. No doubt the strategy will however assist sales into the fleet market where Fiat Professional have already made some progress.
Price as tested £22995 + VAT (without load cover).